Well-packer.



P. H. & F. H. MACK.

WELL PACKER.

APPLICATION FILED Nov. I6', I9I4.

mamas. f

para srAas Aa Carra.

PATRICK H. MACK AND FREDERICK H. MACK, 0F BRADFORD, PENNSYLVANIA,

ASSIG-NORS T0 OIL WEB/L SUPPLY COIBIIIEINY,v 0F PITTSBURGH, PENNSYL- VANIA, A CORPORATION OF PENNSYLVANIA.

WELL-PACKER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application led November 1 6, 19g1l. Serial No. 872,379.

art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

Our invention relates to that class of devices commonly termed well-packers, which are used in connection withv the casing and .tubing of Artesian wells, oil wells, or like deep wells, forshutting oil" the water from the oil bearing sands or from the lower levels of the well. Such packers, as commonly employed, are of two classes, viz., those known in the art as anchor packers wherein tubing extends from beneath the packer proper 'down to the bottom of the well as a support for the packer proper and as a means of causing the packing to engage the walls of the well; and those known in the art as wall packers wherein means are provided for automatically engaging the walls of the well and thus supporting the packer proper directly from the walls of the well. The first named, or anchor packers, are commonly and preferably employed where it is desirable to apply the packer to the tubing near the bottom of the well, and but a short extension of the tubing or a short anchor is required, while the last named are deemed preferable where the packer is to be applied to the casing or tubing some distance above the bottom of the well. In both classes of well packers, however, the packing ordinarily used is a hollow cylinder or annulus of rubber or equivaient compressible and expansiblematerial, in combination with a packer body comprised of telescoping sections of 'tubing whereby the weight of the superposed casing or tubing is utilized to compress the rubber annulus, and by reason of the lateral expansion thereof effect the packing of the well. An existing trouble with this class of packersexperienced in casing wells is the y entry of the gas into the annular packing between the packing and the body member of the packing or the tubing which it surrounds, as a result of which it frequently happens that the rubber annulus is so eX- panded by the gas that it is at times stripped from the tubing by friction against the well walls while attempting to lower the packing to position in the well, and at other times where the pressure of the gas is great is ruptured and rendered ineiiicient after the packing of the well has been effected. The object of our invention is the prevention of the entrance of` gas to the interior of the packing or between the compressible and expansible packing member and the tubing or body member, whereby the premature expansion as well as any subsequent rupture of the packing annulus is prevented. To this end our invention generally stated involves the application of the weight of the superposed tubing to a packingl member in suchv manner as to cause said packing member to engage the tube or body member of the acker and thus prevent the entrance of gas etween said body member and the annular compressible packing member proper. 4It also involves the utilization of the weight of the superposed tubing not only to compress the annular compressible and expansible packing member proper which engages the walls of the well, but also a supplemental packing member which engages the tubing or body member of the packer.

There are other, further features of invention involving particular combinations of elements, as well es particular features of elemental construction whereby the purposes of our invention are effected.

In the drawings chosen yfor the purpose of illustrating our invention, the" scope whereof is pointed out in the claims, Figure 1 is a longitudinal central sectional view of our invention as applied to a wall packer, showing the .relative positions the parts occupy before and when the packer is about to be lowered into a well. Fig. 2 is a view similar to Fig. 1, but showing the relative posi# inclined upwardly and outwardly from the 50 when the packing of the well has been effected. 1 p

ALike symbols refer to like parts wherever they occur.

4We will now proceed to describe our in- -vention more fully so that others skilled in the art to which it appertainsv may apply the same.

In the drawings, l indicates a coupling collar whereby the packer is connected or coupled to a string of tubing. This collar .is threaded internally as at 1 for connection with the pumping tube above the packer and at lb for connection with the body member 2 of the packer. The collar 1 may also be roughened or threaded as at 1c to faciliy tatethe grabbing of the packer by a ishing tool, if the same becomes necessary. The under surface of the collar 1 is preferably recessed as at ldto receive the upper end of `an annulus of compressible and expansible material constituting the packing proper.

Surrounding the body member 2 of the packer is ahollowcylinder or annulus 3 of a compressible Y and expansible material, preferably rubber, which constitutes the packing proper, the function of which when compressed is to expand diametrically and en age the walls of the well.

loosely encircling the body member 2 of the packer just below and in contact with the compressible and expansible hollow cylinder or annulus 3 is a sliding ring 4, preferablyl On the body member 2 below the sliding ring 4 is a second loose ring 5 which telef scopes with the first named loose for sliding' ring4, and the upper surface of the ring 4 is recessed-as atv 5, the walls of said recess body member 2 of the packer.

Inter-posed between the two telesco ing -rings 4 and 5 is a supplemental pac ring member 6 which like packing member 2 is also formed of some compressible material, preferably rubber, though lead or a like sub- `stance may be utilized in this position if preferred.

lt isspeciied herein, though not for purposes of limitation thereto, that the walls of recesses 4b and 5 are inclined relatively te the bcdymember 2 of the acker, as the functien cf 'the rings 4 and 5 is to force the supplemental packing 6' against the body member 2 of tbe packer, and inclined walls are best adapted to eect that purpose, and

amarte further because the effective pressure on the packing can be controlled by the inclination given to the walls of the recess.

The cross section of annular packing 6 will preferably correspond to the cross section of the cavity formed by the recesses 4", 5, though a packing of any other suitable cross section may be employed, as for in stance,\a circular or oval cross section.

The body member 2 of the packing it will be noted extends loosely through the packing member 3, the ring 4, the supplemental packing 6 and the ring 5, so that said members may slide longitudinally of the body member 2, and' terminates in a peripheral shoulder 2 which prevents the escape of the parts mentioned while it permits the free downward movement therethrough of body member 2 of the packer. As a consequence of this construction the superposed vweight of the tubing above collar 1 will, when the lower ring 5 is fixed or adequately supported first compress the packing member 3 and force it in contact with the wallsof the well, and acting through packing 3 will force ring 4 down von supplemental packing 6 compressing the same and causing it to tightly engage the periphery of body member 2 so that no gas can enter be -tween the supplemental packing G and the body member 2 of the packer, and consequently gas is prevented from entering be- -tween the body member 2 of the packer and the packing member 3 of the acker.

Up to this point the descrlption and illus-i tration of our devices apply equally t the` wall packer shown in Figs. 1 and 2 of the drawing, and the anchor packer shown in Figs. 3 and 4 of the drawing being identical in both constructions. Thereafter the invention involves only the selection of the means for anchoring the rin member 5 at the desired point in the wel and for this ica pur ose any known and e'ective means now app icable to anchor packers or wall packers may be selected according to the preference of the constructor or the vposition the packer is to occupy inthe well.

In l4`igs.A 3 and 4 of the drawings the Yring member 5 is threaded as at 5b for the attachmont vof a sleeve member 7 of suiiicient length to permit of the necessary downwardmovement of body member 2 t rough ring member 5 to compress the packing members '3 and 6, and to the lower end of said sleevev member 7 is applied acoupling 8 for connectlng the requlred anchor string of tubing to the packer. 1n Figs. 1 and 2 of the drawing, the lower end of ring 5 is tapered as at l 5 or takes the form of a truncated hollow cene, forcoactlon with the slips 9 of a. wall I anchor, 'which may be cf preferred construction.

ln the present instance we have chosen i als vso

itation, the wall-anchor shown and described in connection with the oil well packer of Mack Patent, No. 1,009,327 of November 21, 1911, wherein the slips 9 have a loose or pivotal connection with slip cage 10, and are collapsed by the action of friction springs 11-the anchor being of that particular class known in the art as a wall anchor-and for a further description thereof, if desired, reference is herein made to said prior Patent No. 1,009,327 of November 21, 1911.

The construction of our devices being substantially such as hereinbefore pointed out, their application and operation will be as follows: Provision having been made to support the packing 3 at the desired point in the well, either by the attachment of a wall anchor of the character indicated in Figs. l and 2 of the drawings, or by attaching thereto a bottom anchor of tubing as provided for in Figs. 3 and 4 of the drawing, the devices, the elements thereof occupying the relative positions indicated in Figs. 1 and 3 of the drawings, are lowered into the well, the weight of the packer and all below the same being suspended from the superposed tubing by the collar, at the lower end of body member 2 of the packer. Having been lowered to the desired point in the well, in case of a bottom anchor packing, the arrest of the downward movement of the anchor and its contact with the bottom of the well will aord the required support for the ring member 5, and in case of the wall-anchor the superposed tubing by means of which the packer is lowered'will be manipulated to set the wall-anchor and support ring member 5- from the walls of the well and thus afford the ring member 5 and packing the' required support at-thc desired point in the well. A support for ring member 5 having thus been secured, the weight of the superposed tubing is allowed to descend on packing member 3, and as body member 2 is movable through packing member 3, ring members 4 and 5 and supplemental packing 6, the packing 3 will, by the telescoping of the parts, be pressed outward against the walls of the well and the'supplemental packing' will be pressed inward against body member 2 of the packing thus preventing gas from following the outer surface of body member 2 to a point inside of packing member 3, which will eiectually prevent the stripping or rupture of the packing member by gas pressure.

It is to be noted that while in the assembling of the elements 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, the screw connections between coupling member 1 and body member 2 may and preferably should be utilizedto put a moderate initial compression on supplemental packinlgm. yet the effective operation of the pac g is not dependent on any screw connection between the elements but is effected by weight and pressure of the superposed tubing acting through the telescoping or relatively movable coacting members constituting the packing, and insures an effective application of the supplemental packing which can not be obtained where a screw follower or gland construction is adopted.

Having thus described our invention, what we claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. 1n a well packer, the combination of a packer having a body member, a supplemental compressible packing member, a support for the packing member, said body member of the packer and the support for the packing member being4 relatively movablellongitudinally of the packer, and means for transferring the weight superposed on the packer to said packing member, said means being adapted to compress the packing member against the body member of the packer.

2. ln a well packer, the combination of a packer having a body member, a packing member for engaging the walls of a well, a supplemental packing member adapted to Lengage the body member, a support for the supplemental packing member, the support and the body member of the packer being relatively movable longitudinally of the packer, and means for transferring pressure from the first named packing member to the supplemental packing member, said means being adapted to compress the last named packing member against the body member of the packer.

3. In a well packer, the combination of a packer having a body member, a supplemental compressible packing member, a support for the compressible packing member, the body member of the packer and the support belng relatively movable lon tudinally of the packer, means for trans erring the weight superposed on the packer to the compressible. packing member, said weight-transferring means and body member of the packer being also relatively movable longitudinally of the packer, said support and said weight-transferring means being adapted to compress the supplemental packlng member against the body member of the packer.

4. In a well packer, the combination of a body member, a packing member, a plurality of ring members, means whereby the weight of superposed tubing may be transmitted to the packer, a supplemental packing member interposed between the ring members, one of said ring members being interposed between the two packing members, and means for supporting one of the ring members in the well, said ring and packing members being` movable with relation to each other and to the body member of the packer whereby any load imposed on the well packer causes the vof telescoping' ring members on supplemental packing member to engage the body member of the packer. 4

5. In a well packer, the corgaination of a body member, a packing mem r, a plurality the body member below the packingmember, a supplemental 'packing member interposed between the' telescopin ring memberss4 and means for supporting in a Well the lower of said telescoping ring members.

6. ln a well packer, the combination of al packer having a body member,' a supple-A Ymental compressible packer, a support for the packing member, means for transferring the weigl'it super osed onv the packer to the compresslble pac zing, the bodymember the maaien support andthe weightftransferring means being relatively movable longitudinall of the packerandsaid support and said Weighttransferring means belng adapted to telescope and to compress the included packing member against the body member of the packer.

In testimony whereof We aiix our signatures, in the presence of twosubscribing Wit- 25 nesses. .I n

' PATRICK H. MACK.

Y FREDERICK H. MACK.

Witnesses: v i

JOHN R. WHITE, FRANK WARD. 

